The Trojanettes only scored two points during the second period against a swarming Lady Hornet defense, but Heather Stark’s team stayed within striking distance by allowing only one field goal of its own.

Muenster’s 3-point attempts rimmed out in that second quarter. That didn’t happen during a 16-point third quarter.

However, Windthorst’s offensive struggles continued too deep into the second half as the No. 22 Lady Hornets won the battle of tight-knit German communities, 46-25.

It’s difficult to beat anybody when scoring three total points over the middle two quarters, but against a versatile team like Muenster than can pound you inside with Kaitlin Hennigan (13 points) and knock down outside shots, it’s daunting.

“They come out in the third quarter and really put it to us,” Stark said of that 16-1 Muenster spurt. “We couldn’t have that bad a quarter scoring and be able to stay with them. They can really get hot at any moment.”

Muenster’s reward is a date with No. 1 Martin’s Mill in the regional semifinals Friday, while the Trojanettes finish at 20-13 after losing in the third round for the second straight year.

The 17-11 halftime deficit swelled quickly as Jada Binder’s four-point play gave Muenster (28-7) its first-double digit lead. Binder had seven of her 10 points in the deciding third period, while sophomore Annie Anderle added seven in that period.

With a win out of reach, Windthorst settled down and scored 13 points in the fourth – more than its output in the first three frames combined.

“I wish we could have made a few more of those shots and not turned it over quite so much,” Stark said. “Maybe it’s a closer game there at the end when we got into the press.

“We just wanted them to play hard through the fourth quarter regardless of what the score was. Just trying to get extra possessions and maybe a few easy baskets. For the most part, they did exactly what we asked them to.”

Muenster's Kaitlin Hennigan drives to the basket against Windthorst. Hennigan finished the night with 15 points and Muenster advanced to the Regional Semi-Finals.(Photo: Andi Newberry)

Abby Brown led Windthorst with 10 points, while Grace Hoegger was next with six. Hoegger’s two 3-pointers in the game’s opening minutes helped stake the Trojanettes to a 9-7 advantage, but Muenster responded by scoring the last seven points of the first for what was the start of a 21-2 run.

Windthorst's Grace Hogger drains a couple 3-pointers early to give Trojanettes a 6-3 lead with 4:40 left in 1Q. pic.twitter.com/QCqNLeFGuH

This was the Trojanettes’ first year in the post-Tatum Veitenheimer era, and it wasn’t surprising there were some hiccups along the way. But Stark also wasn’t surprised senior leaders Claire Hemmi, Hoegger and Mollie Kirk stepped up as the Trojanettes won 18 of their last 20 games to get to this round.

“This was a successful year for us. A lot of people would not have predicted us to be playing in this game tonight,” Stark said. “How we started the year, we played a lot of tough teams and lost a lot of games.

“Those girls could have easily said we can go through the motions until we get to softball, but they continued to work hard and get better. We got to play in the regional quarterfinal game and a lot of teams are practicing softball today.”

Windthorst's Kora Pennartz defends Muenster's Shae Budish at the Regional Quarterfinal game held in Bowie February 19, 2019. Muenster defeated Windthorst 46-25 and advanced to the next round. Andi Newberry